The Arkham Debate
by DescartesThinksNot
Summary: A new treatment is approved at Arkham. With the best of intentions, of course.
1. From the Desk of

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

A not-so recent news broadcast:

"We have just received word that the behavioral modification therapy known as the Ludovico technique has been approved for use in Arkham Asylum. Though the technique led to disaster in trials with a British teenager named Alex DeLarge, the supporters assure us that it has been perfected and such results will not happen again. Nevertheless, there has been some protest from the American people. Now we go to our source, live at the scene in front of the institution in Gotham..."

"Thank you. I'm a little amazed by the mixed feelings associated with the Ludovico technique; emotions range from full-on support of it as an alternative to the death penalty to outrage over the supposed violation of civil liberties. Adding to the tension, the infamous criminal known as the Joker has recently been recaptured and placed in custody here at Arkham. The psychologists and their mentors from England are confident that even he, commonly accepted to be the toughest psychiatric case ever faced, can be helped with the revolutionary technique.

"The question on everyone's lips, however, is should he be?"

Newspaper headlines between then and now:

LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE TO PROCEED DESPITE PROTESTS

GOTHAM MAYOR BALKS AT POTENTIAL COSTS OF ARKHAM'S LATEST PROJECT

COMMISSIONER GORDAN CONDEMNS ARKHAM'S NEW TREATMENT

BILLIONAIRE BRUCE WAYNE ASKED TO FUND LUDOVICO  
He remains unavailable for comment

Story to be further investigated. Must keep close eye.


	2. Inside Wayne Manor

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

"Master Bruce, telephone." The voice issues over the intercom in the cave.

He rubs his temples. "I'm not here, Alfred. Tell them I'm elsewhere."

"Very good, sir." The butler descends the stairs into the cave a few minutes later. "Avoiding the press is highly uncharacteristic of Bruce Wayne."

"I'm not in the mood to play pretend today."

Alfred nods, but doesn't offer any comment just yet.

"Things aren't supposed to be grey with the Joker. He's supposed to make this simpler; pure evil. Someone I don't have to feel guilty about."

"Come now, Master Bruce. Things haven't been simple for a good long while, why do you expect them to start now?"

He lets out a dry laugh.

"This issue isn't going to go away by you avoiding it."

He stares at the computer, which displays news stories from the DeLarge case in England. He's almost ignoring Alfred.

"It's not like your usual cases, I'll admit. It's not going to be solved by just intellect or violence."

He nods. "I just need time to think. I'm allowed that."

"Of course you are, sir. Of course you are."


	3. The Boy in Blue

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

He doesn't want to be bothered. He needs time to wrestle with the decision. Figure out if this falls under 'good' (whatever that means) or 'evil' (whatever that means). And because he does not want to be bothered, naturally it is taken as a signal to start bothering him. "Go away, Clark."

"Alfred said you didn't want to talk to anyone."

"And yet here you are."

"Well, if you weren't in the public eye so much..." Superman shrugs. "Though I would have preferred hearing about this from you and not from a newspaper."

"It's not your business." He crosses his arms.

"Of course it's my business. One, because you're my friend and two, because your decision-Bruce Wayne's decision-is going to affect a lot more people than just the inmates of Arkham later on."

"This may come as a shock to you, but that has actually occurred to me."

"So why haven't you refused already?"

He snorts. Everything is so cut and dry with Clark.

Superman crosses his arms and gives Bruce a his best disapproving glare (minus laser vision).

He rolls his eyes. "Because I'm not sure the effect would be negative."

"Of course it'd be negative. It sets a precedent of using what amounts to hypnosis to deal with supervillains and it won't take long for that to spread to normal criminals."

"Yes."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious."

"What about self-defense?"

"The treatment they used on that kid was still experimental. They didn't know all the effects it would have. They have since been corrected. I've seen some of the results they've reached with this newer version and it's promising."

"It's unethical."

"That's up for debate."

"What about the Joker? They've been trying this on him for months and it's still hasn't worked."

He huffs. "The Joker is, as always, a special case."

Superman sighs. "Bruce, come on. You're smart. You know they won't stop with people like Joker or even bank robbers."

"No, you're right. When they run out of villains, they might turn against vigilantes. If there are any left."

"If?"

"If there are no criminals, we become superfluous." He shrugs. "Simple as that."

Superman frowns. "You're actually considering funding this?"

"I'm considering every option, Clark. Now go away."

"You can't make me."

He arches an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't pull out kryptonite right now."

The eyebrow stays raised.

"Dammit Bruce. This isn't a decision you should make on your own."

He lets out a lengthy sigh, then slips into diplomatic CEO mode. "I'll take your opinion into consideration. Thank you for your input, have a nice day."

"This is going to go very wrong," Superman insists.

"Alfred will show you out."


	4. Better than Killing?

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

He and Robin are perched on a roof, watching for trouble. It's been quiet lately; the Ludovico technique has proven a more effective deterrent to crime than Batman ever was. They fear being caught now because Arkham has become a more foreboding place.

He's glad it's been so slow. Not just for the people who aren't currently in danger, but for the fact that he wants to wait to send any new patients to the Asylum.

Robin looks at his mentor, trying to read the impassive face. "It's funny."

He doesn't take his gaze off of his streets.

Robin continues, "You've never wrestled this much with the idea of lifelong imprisonment."

"They never stay in prison."

"But everyone wants them to. That's the goal. Now that the doctors at Arkham are actually rehabilitating people, you have a moral dilemma."

He grunts.

"So that should tell you something about the method."

"It does tell me something."

"But still better than killing, right?"

He narrows his eyes. A light appears in the sky. "I'll see what Gordon wants. You keep patrolling."

Robin sighs. "Alright, fine, don't talk to me. I get it." He swings down to the roof of another building.


	5. An Important Chat

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

The commissioner stands on the roof next to the lamp that projects the symbol into the sky.

Batman lands on the roof.

Gordon turns off the light. "Rumor has it that Bruce Wayne plans to agree to fund the Ludovico Project."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"It seemed important."

"I don't control the local celebrities."

"No, but you have influence, whether you want the attention or not."

"What do you want me to do, hold a press conference?"

"Of course not. I have no idea what you would say." He puts his hands in his pockets. "You get unpredictable when he's involved."

"We all do."

"Which is why I'm staying out of this."

"You're already in it. You publicly denounced it."

Gordon shrugs. "Something about it doesn't feel right."

He snorts. "I don't have the luxury of relying on my feelings."

"You haven't paid a visit to Arkham lately."

He frowns. What does that have to do with anything?

"You should consider it."

He's getting tired of that word. "Next time, it'd better be for something more important than chatting."

"That can be important."

He's already gone.


	6. A Necessary Evil

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

"You're asking my opinion on this?" Helena sounds more than a little surprised.

He can hear the sounds of fighting from her side of the radio. She's content to beat up petty thugs. "It's a unique one, I'm sure."

"Oh, you know me." A grunt and some blows. "I'm all for it."

"I figured as much."

"Let me talk."

He sighs.

"See, the system isn't working. Putting people like the Joker in jail and them breaking out and us beating them up again and they go back to jail and they get out and it's getting old."

"It is how it is."

"The simplest solution would to be just kill them, but we can't do that. They can't get the death penalty for reasons of insanity and they wouldn't stay in jail long enough for the courts to deal with it anyway."

"And we're not the law-"

"-so we can't kill them ourselves, yeah I know. So this seems to be the best solution. Maybe you can retire."

"The thought had occurred to me."

"Of course, there's the issue that this is basically just another version of killing. The Ludo thing strips away everything that makes them who they are and leaves a shell. Sounds like death to me."

There's a lull in the fight and he can almost hear her smirk.

"It seems like it's a necessary evil."

"I'll let you get back to what you were doing."


	7. The Eye of the Storm

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

"Master Bruce, there's a woman here to see you."

"Reporter?"

"Psychologist working on the Ludovico Project."

"Get her to leave."

"I'm afraid she's rather insistent. She's been here for five hours."

"Why am I only just now hearing about her?"

"Because I knew you would tell me to send her away, so I endeavored to do so. It's not working."

"Call the police, then."

"Sir, that doesn't strike you as extreme? Appearances."

He sighs. Alfred's right. "Fine. I'll ask her to leave myself."

Bruce appears in the parlor where Alfred had the woman waiting. He flashes an insincere but wide grin. "I'm sorry to have kept you so long. I'm sure you're very busy."

"It's no trouble. Things at Arkham are on hold, pending your decision." She smiles back sweetly. "I understand wanting to take your time; the Project is potentially world-changing."

"Oh is it?"

She nods. "We have supporters in other specialized prisons, like Arkham, but they're all looking at you. Gotham has become the eye of this storm."

He isn't sure she's using an appropriate metaphor, but doesn't say anything about it. "Is that so..."

"We're on the verge of ending all manner of crime. Violent, white collar, all of it. All we need is you."

He nods, looking overly thoughtful. "Well, given that this is a world-changing decision, I want to give it the most careful consideration. I appreciate your visit; Alfred will see you out."

She smirks lightly. "You're a secretive man, Mr. Wayne."

"I just don't like strangers in my home. Have a good day, ma'am."

He walks away, so she allows Alfred to show her out.


	8. The Oracle

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

"Have you been avoiding me, Bruce?"

"Barbara."

"You know I deserve a say in this as much as you."

He looks at her chair. "Yes, I suppose you do. What would you do, then?"

"I wouldn't violate his mind. And don't tell me that's not what this is. Because you know that's a lie."

He nods slowly.

"I hate him just as much as you do. But the Ludovico technique, no matter how many bugs they've worked out, is wrong."

"Maybe it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"It's the Joker."

"And dozens of other people who aren't half as bad."

"And the Joker."

"Fine, be stubborn. I think you'll do the right thing in the end, though."

"Sure I will."

She smiles sadly. "I trust you on this one."


	9. In The Cave

**Author's note: I don't own Batman or Clockwork Orange.**

"Isn't it about time you paid a visit to the people who's lives you're about to change?"

"Visit Arkham?" He nods.

"Shall I make an appointment for you?"

"No. Bruce Wayne has all the information he needs. I think Batman needs to call on them."

Alfred raises an eyebrow. "Is that wise?"

"Necessary. Wayne won't be allowed near the Joker. Batman will."

"It's all about the Joker, isn't it."

"Always."

"And what do you expect to find?"

He shrugs.

"A broken man, an enemy, someone seeking redemption?"

He doesn't answer.

"What will you do if he's not the Joker anymore?"

"He's been the most resistant to their methods."

"Good luck, then, sir."


End file.
